A Star for Every Wanderer
by slightlysmall
Summary: "What did happen with you and Dad at Hogwarts? You said Nana and Papa Weasley and Gramma and Granddad Malfoy used to hate each other. Then one day you and Dad got married. That's all you've ever told us. What happened in between?" This is that story.
1. This Could Be Fun

Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. Shakespeare's poem is in the public domain. I still don't own it, though, as much as I would like to.

Written for the 20 Week 20k Challenge. This chapter uses the prompt "infatuated."

Written for the 10, 20, 30 Chapter Challenge, which gave me the titles for the chapters. I'm using them out of order.

But especially written for Nayla (The Original Horcrux) for her sixteenth birthday. Happy birthday, Nay! For this chapter, I'm using your prompt: "There's loads of boring stuff in between, like Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons."

(I tried my best to write this in British English without a Beta. Feel free to Britpick. And if you would like to be my official British Beta/Britpicker, please let me know.)

* * *

Courtney has fallen asleep in my arms, and I carefully stand to take her to bed. Antares and Cassiopeia wait on the couch, making no indications of getting up. Courtney is three now, and she looks just like me. She is our surprise baby, born nine years after her next-youngest sibling, and she's both a delight and a terror. I smile, brushing her sweaty hair from her forehead as I lay her down. I was a delight and a terror myself, and so was my husband. She stirs when I walk away, but I know she won't wake.

In the living room, my older children still wait anxiously for me. At twelve and fourteen, they insist they are too old for bedtime reading, and yet here they are, waiting as always. Every night, we cuddle up together, all four of us at first, when Courtney's still awake, and I start with her favourite stories. But I always move on to material more suited to Antares and Cassi. And they always stay to listen. I grab my favourite book of poems from the shelf and open to a dog-eared page. "Let me read you one of the best," I say.

_Sonnet 116_

_Let me not to the marriage of true minds  
Admit impediments. Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove:  
Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark  
That looks on tempests and is never shaken  
It is the star to every wandering bark  
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.  
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks  
Within his bending sickle's compass come:  
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.  
If this be error and upon me proved,  
I never writ, nor no man ever loved._

"Why do you love that poem so much, Mum?" Antares asks me as I finish reading it aloud.

"My Mum - your Nana Hermione - used to read it to me all the time. She said she wished she understood it better before she started dating your Papa. I wish I understood it better, too, when I was at Hogwarts."

"You understand it now, though, right, Mum? You understand _everything._ What's it mean? And what's a bark?" Cassi asked.

"A bark is an old-fashioned word for a ship."

Ever logical, Antares says, "Well, then why doesn't he just say ship?"

"Bark and mark rhyme; ship doesn't. Poets can use some strange word choices for the sake of rhyme. Anyway, the poem means that love - true love - is steadfast. It doesn't change when a person changes, it doesn't leave when beauty leaves. True love is dependable. I have that kind of love with your father, even if I didn't always realise it."

Cassiopeia looks at me, eyes wide and strawberry-blonde hair messy from a long day. "You and Dad weren't always in love?"

I smile, thinking back to the day we met on Platform 9 ¾ and everything that passed over the seven years that followed. "No, not exactly. Though perhaps we always were, even when we didn't act like it."

Antares has dropped his small pretension of apathy. "What _did _happen with you and Dad at Hogwarts, anyway? You said Nana and Papa Weasley and Gramma and Granddad Malfoy used to hate each other. And then one day you and Dad got married. That's all you've ever told us. What happened in between?"

I tousle his hair and grin. "You don't want to hear _that_ story, surely. In between the day we met and the day we married, there's loads of boring stuff, like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. Ordinary Wizarding Levels and ordinary wizarding days. I wouldn't want to bore you."

"Then skip the boring parts! Tell us all of the good things that happened between you!"

"And the bad," adds Cassiopeia, with pensiveness I think she gets from my mum. "It won't be a good story without the bad."

"That's a great idea, Cassi. In fact, I think I will tell you the very worst."

"The very worst?" asks Antares, his eyes wide. "There is a very worst part of your story?"

"There is," I admit. "After all, there is a very worst part of every story. For us, it was our sixth year. As it happened, I was absolutely infatuated with him."

"Where's the bad in that?" Antares asks. "Infatuation is a _good _thing to have for your future spouse!" In a moment, his certainty turns to doubt. "...Right?"

"Yes, it is. My infatuation, sweetheart, is only the beginning."

* * *

I let my mind drift back to Platform 9 ¾ until I feel like I am really there, immersed in the details. Mum and Dad were off saying goodbye to Hugo, a fourth-year; I was searching out Kavya Goldstein and Scorpius. That summer, we hadn't talked much. My family had visited my mum's parents in Australia for most of our holiday, and owls back to Britain were rare - and expensive. I wrote only to let them know my O.W.L. results and what classes I would be taking as a N.E.W.T. student.

I found Scorpius first, brooding alone near the edge of the platform, away from the crowds. His parents weren't here, but that didn't surprise me. After first year, they dropped him off without any pomp and left the moment he was on the platform. As I approached, I couldn't help but notice how much Scorpius had grown up in just a few months. He was inches taller, certainly, but it was more than that; it was the way his face had filled out and became more square, the way he held his shoulders, the hint of stubble on his face. He was my best friend, and now he was breathtaking. I felt even plainer with the contrast now evident between us; I hadn't learned to tame my hair yet, and my face still bore the signs of an awkward adolescence. I hadn't grown since fourth year, either, and barely reached his shoulder.

For the first time since first year, I felt awkward around him. "Um, hi, Scorpius," I finally managed, though we'd been standing there facing each other for nearly a minute.

"Hi, Rose." Normally this was the cue when we would fall into a best-friends hug or start bantering about his thin, pointed nose or my crazy hair. But neither of us did. We just stood there, staring, while I wrung my hands and he shifted from foot to foot.

"You two plan on going to school this year? Or are you trying to break the record for world's most awkward staring contest? Let's go!" Kavya called from the window of the train. I smiled awkwardly, apologetically, at him and he nodded without familiarity, all pretension and courtesy, before following me on board.

As if looking at Scorpius wasn't enough, Kavya had decided to pick that summer to grow from child to adult as well. Her acne gone, her chest filled out, she even had _hips_ for Merlin's sake. It was hard not to sulk as the train took off and I looked out the window for a quick wave goodbye to my parents. I faked a smile for them; after all, I was with my two best friends, on my way to school, dropping History of Magic... it was set to be the best year of my life.

"Everything okay?" Kavya asked me when Scorpius got up to talk to some of his Slytherin friends who had passed by. "Did you get bitten by a kangaroo or something while you were gone?"

I rolled my eyes. "Funny, Kav. It's just... you two seem so different. And I seem so much the same. It's like you guys grew up without me."

A mock look of understanding crosses Kavya's face. "Of course! How could you forget? Time passes backward in the southern hemisphere, so while you were Down Under, you were getting younger while we got older!"

"Oh, naturally. Why don't you and Scor go spend some time Down Under, then? Give me a chance to catch up?"

Kavya pondered this, her face serious for a few moments. "That's okay. I don't feel like getting eaten by a boa constrictor or something."

"Get your facts straight, Kavya. You're a Ravenclaw!"

"Yeah, poor you two," Scorpius said, reopening the compartment door. "If only you'd been sorted into Slytherin. I might like you both more."

"Impossible," Kavya responded, then looked between us with a smirk on her face. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what she was trying to imply. My brain was still searching its catalogue for a proper comeback when the compartment door slid open again and I was spared the need to think of something witty.

"Bryan? What brings you to this part of the train?"

"Prefect duties," he said in a voice that was somewhere between diplomatic and patronising. "Like the ones you're supposed to be on, Rose. And you, Scorpius."

"Right," I said. "Er, we'll be over in a minute. See you later, Kavya?"

"I guess. You two go be responsible. Mum's still upset you were made Prefect over me, Rose. She wanted me to continue after her and Dad. That's how they started dating, she tells me. Every. Fricking. Time. Prefects are mentioned. Apparently my chances at a husband are dashed now." She spoke mockingly, but I could hear the serious undertones to her words. I didn't want Prefect anyway; she could have it if it were mine to give away.

Scorpius and I walked down to the front compartment side by side, but still we didn't seem comfortable around each other, and couldn't manage anything to say. I didn't like the way we became strangers over a summer apart. How strong could our friendship be if it didn't last such a short time away? Abernethy Finnigan looked at the two of us, sitting stiffly by each other, and said, "You two, your turn to patrol."

Bryan Macmillan looked like he was about to protest, but we were out of the door before he could say anything. Our formalities continued as we began to walk the train, but we found a compartment with the curtains drawn and inappropriate noises coming from inside. "Open up," Scorpius said, banging on the door.

"Just a minute!" The voice was young, and when the girl opened the door, her shirt's buttons didn't align. There was a boy in the corner straightening a tie I was certain wasn't there a moment ago.

"You two better watch it," I said, sounding more like my mother than I wanted to. "Once we're at Hogwarts that sort of behaviour will get you detentions, lost house points, and maybe even worse. For now, if I see these curtains closed one more time, I'll make sure something happens between you two, and you won't like it one bit."

"We were only-"

"Whatever. Don't let that happen again."

"Fine," she replied, finally sounding her age, and appropriately afraid of me.

"Merlin's Beard," Scorpius said as we walked away. "Those two were what, third years?"

"I think so. The girl is a Ravenclaw, if I remember right. Kids these days, it's crazy what they get themselves into."

"I know. I mean here I am, nearly seventeen, and haven't yet snogged anyone."

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! You know that's a lie." I wished it wasn't.

His eyes gleamed. "It depends on how you define snogging, really, doesn't it? Certainly not like _that_," he said, gesturing back toward the compartment we'd just investigated.

"You and Emma Davies last year?" I accused. "_I _had the misfortune of opening _that _broom closet." Worst day of my life so far, that was. Nothing like investigating a between-class snogging and finding the boy you love engaged in a very thorough exploration of someone else's mouth.

"And that never happened again, Rose. I swear." I didn't know why he found that fact so important to tell me, but I tried not to think about it too much. I knew I would be spending the hours before bed analysing everything he told me. For the time being, I was just happy that hours after reconnecting, we were finally talking like the old friends we were.

* * *

"Bedtime," I say firmly, glancing over to the clock.

"But Mum! You hadn't even gotten to Hogwarts yet!"

Antares pauses, and looks like he is pondering whether to say something or not. His curiosity wins out, though. "Did you really find third-years snogging?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And if I hear of either of _you_ doing that next year - or any time at all you're at Hogwarts - there will be quite the talking-to."

"All right," they say in unison, but Cassi adds in a rushed whisper I'm sure I'm meant to hear, "I solemnly swear you won't find out."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "Do you have someone in mind, Cass?"

She blushes, then hops up from the sofa and makes her way down the hall. "It's bedtime, right Antares?"

"Right," he agrees, and I'm left smiling, waiting for Scorpius to come home.


	2. The Sting of a Scorpion

If you recognize it, it doesn't belong to me.

There's strong language in this chapter.

I'm still looking for a Britpicking Beta - this chapter, like the first, remains un-Beta'd at the moment. I appreciate you letting me know if you notice any mistakes - British or otherwise.

My prompt from Nayla: I'd run away. My prompt from the 20 week 20k challenge: yellow.

* * *

The next evening, after Courtney is asleep, I dramatically look over the bookshelf. "What should I read you tonight? Romeo and Juliet maybe? Delirium? Matched?"

Cassi looks at me in the way only adolescent girls can. "If you must tell us a story of forbidden love, can't we at least have the story of you and Dad?"

I exaggerate surprise. "You noticed that? Oh, well I suppose if you and Antares insist... you can hear a bit more of our story."

"I asked Dad this morning and he said he never ever snogged Emma Davies," Antares says matter-of-factly as we settle onto the sofa.

"Antares!"

"What? In order to be objective, I have to know both sides of the story." He grins. I sigh. I sometimes wish my children wouldn't use the lessons I try to teach them against me, but they wouldn't be my children if they didn't.

I change the subject; Scorpius was bending the truth to our children anyway. He definitely snogged Emma Davies. "So you two want to know what happens next?"

Cassi looks pensive again, and I swear I see my mum looking out of her eyes. "Not what happens next. We know all about the Sorting Feast and school and everything. Tell us the most interesting thing."

"You don't want to hear about us staring silently at each other for the next two months?"

"Hmm... no, thanks."

"Well, then," I say, and once again lose myself in a memory more vivid than the outline I let our children hear.

* * *

With our first N.E.W.T. year came loads of changes, like not having class by house anymore, but only by subject. More free time, more homework, and definitely more relationship drama. My cousins and I were always worrying about who Lily was wrapping her arms around next, even as a fourth year, and Prefect duties were overwhelming on top of everything else. I began to resent Kavya for not having them as much as she slowly began to resent me for being a Prefect at all.

For me, my refuge from the week was always Charms class. I enjoyed Professor Flitwick, and Charms was my favourite type of magic. There was so much good that could be done with Charms, and it was always entertaining. It was also one of the few subjects I had with both Kavya and Scorpius, and that was probably what I enjoyed even more than the subject matter. But still, something was different between us. Though Scorpius was there, he wasn't the confidant I'd found him in our previous five years. There was something formal about the way he handled our friendship, and we didn't tease and joke like we used to.

Bryan Macmillan was there, too, but though he'd acted strangely toward me all year, for the most part I found him easy to ignore, talking and taking our charms work a little too lightly. By mid-October, we were practising Aguamenti, and Kavya and I, at her suggestion, spent most of our lesson drenching each other in conjured water. I'd figured out the spell in a rudimentary way before third year, so I didn't think it was particularly important to take our first lesson in the charm too seriously. I knew I would pay closer attention when we practised its nuances later in the term. Charms work, especially that day, was entertaining.

Scorpius looked on, wearing his Prefect face. "Give it a rest, Rose, Kavya."

"Awww Scor, you feeling left out?" I asked. "Here, let me help you with that. _Aguamenti!_" My charm sends a spray of water his way, drenching his head and messing up his perfectly gelled hair.

"Merlin, Rose! I tell you to stop and _this_ is what you do to me?"

"You're just jealous! Something changed this summer, Scorpius, and I don't know what it was, but you're jealous, that has to be it." I paused. "And upset I ruined your _perfect _hair."

I stood as tall as I could, leaning up and into him, my cheeks flushing with anger. His eyes narrowed as he looked down on me, and I kept up the look of my own anger because I couldn't stand the hurt in his own eyes. The rest of the class had stopped work and was staring at us, but I barely even noticed. I was too busy glowering at him. "You think I'm mad about my fucking _hair_, Rose? If anyone's hair needed drenching, it was yours, anyway! Maybe it would tame that rat's nest of yours that you so poorly transfigured to resemble hair."

"Wow, Scor," I said, my voice suddenly quiet. "You haven't talked to me that way since first year. Something really did change over the summer, didn't it? I thought we were friends."

"Well I thought you would listen to me when I said enough is enough!"

"You sound like my Dad! Or a professor! Shouldn't it be Flitwick chastising us?"

"Oh, Ms Weasley, don't worry. I plan to."

"Professor Flitwick, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"I noticed. Now if you and Mr Malfoy would like to continue this discussion, I expect you to do it somewhere else, and not during class hours. Detention for the both of you, I think, for disrupting my class. Tomorrow night at seven o'clock. My office."

"Yes, Professor Flitwick," Scorpius said dutifully, but I couldn't bring myself to acquiesce so easily.

"Why should I have to go, Professor? Kavya started the water fight and Scorpius started the verbal fight. What does that have to do with me?"

"In both cases, you joined in."

"Well then why isn't Kavya getting detention?"

"Rose! Don't drag me into this!" She shoots me a glare, but in my anger I can't bring myself to feel sorry. She did start it, after all.

"Your antics with Kavya weren't disrupting class. I will see both of you tomorrow at seven. Rose, I'll see you again the night after that."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, regretting it even as I did so.

"And again on Friday, Rose."

I used to pride myself on my love for classes. I never once skipped, which I enjoyed pointing out to my parents in my letters home. Dad always went off about noble purposes and saving the world, but I know it was only half true. But I couldn't take Scorpius yelling, or Professor Flitwick's growing list of detentions - my first ever - or the whole class staring. I stared at Professor Flitwick for an instant longer, my wand still trickling water as if to make up for what my eyes weren't doing yet.

Finally, despite class being barely half over, I turned on my heel and left without another word, running once I was on the grounds, and making my way to the lake to sit alone. Thank goodness I was a sixth year with free periods; no one could question whether I was supposed to be there or not.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, watching the sun drag across the sky, reflecting into the lake a dim, dull yellow that was more like stains from dandelions than gold. But I stayed and my eyes took over where my wand left off in class, crying over a million things at once. I was ashamed of my back talking, offended by Scorpius's words, still wondering why Kavya didn't defend me and when Scorpius and I stopped being friends. I didn't make it to another class that day, and for the first time, I didn't care. I was almost at the point where I'd run away and wait to see who followed, see who my true friends were.

Maybe by sitting there and skiving classes, I had already run away. So when Bryan Macmillan walked over and sat beside me, finding me before Kavya and Scorpius, who would have known where to look, I couldn't have been more surprised.

"Bryan? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, Rose. I was worried about you after Charms, and then not seeing you in Ancient Runes... well, I wanted to make sure you were okay." He sat down beside me, looking out over the lake.

"Well I'm not, thanks. Kav and Scor are in that class, too. Did they say anything?"

"No, they didn't. It was like they hadn't even noticed you weren't there."

"Hmph. Figures." Bryan's yellow Hufflepuff tie was reflecting in the water, now, and maybe my mood was getting a little better because it looked like pale gold again. Maybe he was the one to shake me out of everything and make me whole again. "Scorpius was my best friend, next to Kavya. I just didn't think he would ever be so... _rude_ to me, you know? It stung."

"He's a scorpion, Rose," Bryan said, taking my hand and holding it gently, like I mattered. "Of course he was going to sting you."

I blinked back tears and tried to gain composure of my voice. "I thought it was because he was male," I teased, hoping that imitating a light mood would help me feel one again.

"Of course not, Rosie. _I'm_ male and I would never say something like that to you. It'll be okay. I'll take care of you." Even in that moment, I knew I didn't want him to be the one taking care of me. I wasn't even sure if I wanted taken care of at all. But at the time, it was exactly what I needed to hear. "Rose, will you be my girlfriend, please? I have liked you for a long time, Rose, and I think you need me. I can take care of you."

Despite our row, I hadn't stopped loving Scorpius. The love I felt only made the row worse. But I thought, based on our conversation and his irritability, that there was no way he could love me, and I let myself settle. I nodded, and he pulled me gently toward him. I buried myself in his kisses, kisses that made me feel nothing at all, kisses that only reinforced my numbness. But being numb was what I needed. I let down my guard and fell - not into love, necessarily, but into something like it.

* * *

I practically stop my story mid-word when loud music suddenly fills the living room air. "Cassiopeia Malfoy, what _is_ that?"

Her head is bent low, strawberry-blonde hair creating a curtain around her face. "My mobile..."

"And when in the world did you get one of those? Don't tell me Nana gave it to you. She always finds Muggle devices so _important._"

Cassi bites her lip nervously and the guilt in her eyes shames my anger at my mum. "No, it wasn't Nana. Mum, please don't be upset."

"I'll let you know whether I'm upset after you tell me what's going on. And I promise you I will be much more upset if I find out you're lying than I will be if you tell me the truth. Regardless of what the truth is."

Cassi glances over to Antares, who sits beside her with the look that only adorns children when their siblings are about to get in trouble. She looks back at me, a question in her eyes, and I nod. "Antares, go to bed."

"But, Mum-"

"Now, please. I love you."

He folds his arms and stomps theatrically out of the room, but before he reaches the staircase, he calls reluctantly over his shoulder. "Love ya, too."

Together, Cassi and I listen to his stomping, followed by the slam of his bedroom door, and together we laugh at him. "Okay, Cassi. Let's talk, please."

"Jake gave it to me. He wanted us to keep in contact."

"That Muggle boy who lives across the street? You couldn't keep in contact by, say, walking over and saying hello?"

"See? I _knew_ you wouldn't get it! You'd be all harsh and judgmental and everything."

"Cassi, calm down! I was just making sure I was thinking of the right person!"

"No. I knew you'd hate him. You don't like Muggles much."

I laugh nervously and put my arm around her. "What makes you say that? I know you never met them, but I have Muggle grandparents, your Nana Hermione's parents. And do you remember your great-granddad Arthur?"

A smile lights up her face. "I forgot about his garage full of Muggle artefacts."

"Or your great-aunt Audrey?"

"Oh yeah, she's Muggle, isn't she? I forget. She fits in well."

"Yes, she does. And the Weasleys wouldn't have been the same without her. Your Papa says that Audrey is exactly what Uncle Percy needed. That he used to be even more of a prat."

"Seriously?"

"Definitely." I pull her close and sneak a kiss on top of her frizzy hair before she has a chance to object. "Oh, and one more thing. Do you really think that the woman who married the son of her parents' enemy has any right to judge who your friends are?"

She blushes but responds to whatever Jake sent her on that device before answering me. "No, definitely not. You're going to get to the part in the story where you and Dad end up dating, right?"

"Eventually, but it's bedtime."

Cassi nods. "Okay. But Mum? Just one more thing..."

"Yes?"

"About Jake Conway? I wish he _wasn't _just my friend."

"Give it time," I say, and squeeze her close for a moment longer than she probably appreciates at fourteen. "Good night, Cassiopeia."

"Night, Mum."


	3. Secret Meetings

It is Saturday and Cassi has joined me for a trip to the local Muggle market for some food. She skips along beside me and seems as carefree as she was at age four. "Cass?"

"Yeah, Mum?" she asks, slowing to my pace.

"What has you so excited?"

"Nothing." She's twirling her hair. It's around her left index finger so tight she's probably cutting off its circulation, and it's a sure sign she's lying. I wonder if she realises that yet.

"Which means?"

"Absolutely nothing!" There is nearly as much hair wrapped around her finger as attached to her head.

"Does it have to do with Jake?"

She looks up at me, wide-eyed. "How did you know?"

I chuckle. "Just a guess. I remember being in love like that. I used to go anywhere if I knew Scorpius would be around." I pause, remembering Cassi's sudden excitement for the market. "Is that why you were so interested in joining me? Is he supposed to be here?"

"That's not important. What is important _is_ that you were dating that other boy. Bryan? And you were looking around for Scorpius?"

I shrug. "I wasn't perfect, Cassi. I told you - this part of the story is the worst part."

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"Right now? Without Antares?"

Cassi smiles mischievously. "He won't mind..."

"If you say so. I will tell you." I keep walking in silence. We're nearly to the market and it's getting crowded. We may know enough about Muggles to blend in with them, but if I start up my story about Hogwarts, it won't go over well.

"Mum?" she says as I steer her towards a stall for cabbage.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"_When_ will you tell me?"

"When we get home and your brother can listen and it's just the three of us." I look at her in a way that I hope reminds her about the Statute of Secrecy.

"Oh, yeah. Okay." I busy about choosing the best cabbage to take home, but I feel Cassi getting anxious beside me. "Do you mind if I look around?"

"Not at all. Go have fun with Jake."

"Mum!"

"What?" I say innocently, but she's already gone.

* * *

Dating Bryan Macmillan was much more exhausting than I planned on. All I wanted was someone to wrap their arms around me and kiss me. Someone to go to Hogsmeade with. Someone for Scorpius to see me with and maybe realise he was jealous of.

Bryan was not that simple. He insisted on walking me to every class, arm in mine, even when he had somewhere different to be. The first week, I thought he was chivalrous, but then I started analysing the sorts of things we talked about. The loving words and sweet things he said to me the night he asked me out were gone the next morning.

On our four-week anniversary of dating, he walked me to Herbology even though he had a free period. "What did you do this morning, Rosie?"

"Well, I woke up late, wolfed down my breakfast, finished the last of my Herbology homework, and met you here."

"Who did you eat breakfast with? I ate much earlier than you, so I didn't see." That was intentional. I was tired of his eyes on me from the Hufflepuff table, scrutinising my every move. After breakfast, he would find me and ask me what I was whispering about with Kayva or Daisy, or what I said that made Emily laugh so hard. I felt like I had to keep notes of every conversation I had when he could see but not hear them.

The Headmistress had no issue with us sitting at a different House table, and more than once I had told him to just sit with me already, but he refused. He insisted that as the female in the relationship, I should join his table, not he mine. I pointed out that all the interesting things happened at the Ravenclaw table. He scoffed and walked away.

That day, however, I had no issues with making up everything we talked about. "Kavya and I got into a heated discussion about what Professor Binns was telling us about the Battle of Hogwarts. Daisy and Emily had already eaten; it was just the two of us."

"I didn't see Daisy and Emily earlier."

"Oh, um, it must have been right between when you ate and when I ate, then. They got up right after Kav and I sat down."

His brows furrowed as though he was about to say something, but changed his mind. A moment later, when he spoke, I knew it wasn't the first thing he had thought of. "Are you ready for the Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Of course! I love getting out of Hogwarts every now and then."

Bryan smiled self-satisfactorily. "Oh, good. I have our whole day planned. We'll start at Madam Puddifoot's for some tea, and then go into the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes outpost in town, and a walk to the Shrieking Shack after that and-"

"And what if I promised Kavya I would spend some time with her?"

"You won't have any time for that."

I pulled my arm out of his and stopped practically mid-stride, turning to face him. I could feel my face heating up, matching my hair, and though I knew how close we were to the greenhouses, I began to shout. "You can't control my life like that! You barely know me! We haven't been dating a month yet!"

He grabbed my wrists and pulled me close, leaning in and whispering. It was worse than if he yelled. "Shut up, Rose, now, or I'll give you a reason to scream."

It took all my strength to keep from crying during Herbology. At the end of class, I took as long as I could packing my things; I knew Bryan would be waiting for me outside. Kavya turned to me and stayed as well. "Is everything okay?"

"No, it's not."

"What happened?"

I looked up at her, but couldn't think of anything to say. I wasn't sure whether I was more upset at his attempts to control my life or the fact that he threatened me. It was probably both. "Bryan... he is trying to tell me what I can and can't do. And threatened me when I told him off for it."

"Rose, look at me. That's not okay. You need to get out of that relationship."

I knew she was right, of course. But it was difficult to admit. I packed my things and left the greenhouse at Kavya's side and, sure enough, Bryan was at the door. "Scorpius isn't in that class, is he?"

"No, he hates plants. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Just trying to figure out what took you so long to leave. You shouldn't make me wait like that, Rosie."

He took my hand and not my bookbag, and Kavya gave me a stern glance. I could practically hear her insisting that I end things now. "Bryan, maybe we should..." I started, but I realised I couldn't end it. Not yet. I was certain he only asked me so much about my life all the time because he honestly cared, and, well, Scorpius and I still hadn't made up from our fight.

"Maybe we should what?" he asked.

Kavya elbowed me in the ribs, but I ignored her, chickening out at the last moment. "Do you think maybe we could decide on a plan for Hogsmeade together? I'd rather have Butterbeer than tea at Madam Puddifoot's," I said honestly.

Bryan let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around me, squeezing me close to him without any sort of finesse. "Rosie, don't you think I'm just trying to take care of you? Don't you trust my plans?"

"It's not that, it's just not my preference, really, to-"

"Rose. I promise you. It will be the best date of your life." Truthfully, I didn't doubt him. But only because it would be my first official date ever.

Everything started out surprisingly well. Bryan picked me up looking dapper, and even next to him, I felt mediocre in comparison. "You look beautiful, Rose," he said, planting a chivalrous kiss on my cheek, but still my doubts didn't dissipate.

"Thanks. Shall we go?" I looked back at Kavya, who was waiting to leave with Emily and Daisy. She nodded at me, looking apprehensive, but I shrugged off her concerns.

Somehow, Madam Puddifoot's wasn't nearly as terrible as I expect it to be. It was decorated for Christmas, which was decidedly less romantic than it would be in a month or two, and the other couples within weren't as annoying as the rumours I'd heard. Bryan held my hand and looked into my eyes and generally acted like a sweet boyfriend, except that he only talked about himself.

"Did you know my father's running for Minister?" Bryan asked me, and I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes.

"I did. It was in the papers." My eyes, instead of rolling, wandered out the window to the alley of Hogsmeade, where everyone I saw seemed to be having more fun than I was. Well, nearly everyone. I saw a head of blond hair pacing about in circles, head down, shrugging off the attention of anyone who tried to give him any. "Um, Bryan? I'm having an amazing time, truly, but I just saw Emily outside and I remembered that I needed to tell her something important. I'll be right back."

"Okay, I'll come with you."

"I don't think so," I said, and realised I was talking _too_ quickly, _too_ certainly. "I mean, it's about something private. I don't think she would want to risk the chance of you overhearing."

At that, his eyes darted toward the window so quickly I was afraid he Charmed them out of his head. I knew he wasn't looking for Emily, but for Scorpius. I braced myself as inconspicuously as I could, waiting for the moment when he saw him. But instead, he said, "I see her. She does look like she's waiting for something. Be quick, Rose. Do you want a refill on your tea while you're gone?"

I looked down at my teacup, still nearly full. He had chosen chamomile. I hated chamomile. "That's all right. Thanks a lot, Bryan. I'll miss you," I said, kissing him more passionately than I wanted to.

It was all I could do to keep myself from running out of the door and into the alleyway and I nearly knocked Emily over on my way out. "Hey! I was looking for you," I said, giving her a hug. "There was that thing I needed to talk to you about."

She grabbed my arm, loosely, and pulled me away from the alley where Madam Puddifoot's was located and onto the high street. "That thing you needed to talk to me about is over there. Hurry back, okay?"

"How did you know?"

She shrugged. "Everyone knows you're in love with him. Even Bryan, so I suggest you be careful."

The thought unnerved me a little, even though it didn't surprise me. "Thanks, Em. I owe you a million."

"Which you will give to me in the form of a trip to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes before the end of the day. Your treat."

I frowned, but nodded. "Fine. I'll meet you there soon."

Scorpius was sitting on a bench outside the nearly deserted Zonko's joke shop, elbows on his knees, face in his hands. I approached him cautiously; we still hadn't spoken in a month. "Scorpius? Can I sit down?"

"Where's your boyfriend?" His tone was hostile, but I was prepared for that.

"At Madam Puddifoot's," I said, and didn't try to hide my contempt.

"Why? You hate that place!"

"I realise this, thank you. Maybe that's why I ditched."

"You seriously ditched him, Rose? Maybe you _should've_ been put in Gryffindor."

"I told him I had something important to tell Emily, and I would be back. So, well, I can't stay long."

He almost smiled. "_That's_ the Rose I know and-" He cut himself off. "How've you been?"

"Downright miserable, yourself?"

"About the same. Listen, Rose, about what happened in Charms... I'm sorry. I was in a bad mood and took it out on you."

"What made you so sour?"

"Emma Davies. She... she asked me out again."

"How terribly upsetting it must be to realise how attractive you are."

"Well, _that_ didn't upset me. But I turned her down and she set about threatening to hex me to next week."

I was honestly confused. "Why did you turn her down, then? I thought you liked her."

"Well, I did like her. At least, I didn't hate her, but, well, there was someone else I was hoping to ask out instead."

"Of course there was," I said, suddenly angry, and I stood up more forcefully than I probably needed to. "I've got to get back, Scorpius."

"Rose! Wait! You're misunderstanding me."

I turned halfway around, though I had already stomped several paces away. "Did you ask her out?"

"No. I never got the chance." He looked genuinely hurt, and I thought about asking him who she was so I could beat her up for him, or knock some sense into her, but I thought better of it. After all, there was a part of me that was glad he never got the chance. Ignoring the fact that I had a boyfriend of my own, I thought about Scorpius, and only Scorpius, as I rounded into the alley to go back to Bryan.

"There you are!" Bryan's arms were around me before I could orient myself to where he came from. "Where did you go?"

"Sorry, Emily and I got distracted. There was something in Weasley's that she wanted to show me, and we started looking around and I lost track of time. Do you mind if we meet her there later?"

His face was a mixture of relief and disappointment. "That should be fine. Do you want to finish your tea?"

"No, thanks," I said, and, thanks to his constant narcissistic monologue, didn't have speak to him again for the rest of our date.

* * *

"That's all for tonight?" Antares asks.

"That's all."

"But Mum! You and Dad were both being so stupid. Obviously he liked you, and you liked him, too, but you just couldn't see it. He did mean he was going to ask _you_ out, right?"

I grin. "You'll just have to wait and see. Bedtime, Antares."

"But what about Cassi?"

"I still have a few things I want to talk about with her."

"Fine, Mum."

"When you're fourteen, I'll let you stay up twenty minutes later sometimes as well. Deal?"

"A bit of a raw deal," he says, "but I'll take it."

When we hear his footsteps stop and his door slam, I turn to Cassi, but before my question makes it to my lips, she has one for me. "Mum? Bryan didn't treat you very well."

"No, sweetheart, he didn't."

"Why did you stay with him?"

"Because, like your brother said, I was stupid. I didn't know any better. I thought I needed a relationship, any relationship, if I couldn't have Scorpius. And Cassi?"

"Yeah?"

"If I hear about _any_ boy treating you that way - Jake or anyone else - you better run as fast as you can, hear?"

"I will."

"So... speaking of Jake, what happened on your date today?"

"Mum! It wasn't a date!"

I smirk. "Did you hold hands?"

She lowers her gaze. "Um, well..."

"And did he buy you anything?"

She blushes. "Ice-cream."

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. "Must be love."

"Mum!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. You really like him?"

She nods earnestly. "I really do."

"Well then, go to bed and dream, love."

She stops halfway up the stairs and turns to me. "You aren't done, right? Telling us about you and Dad?"

"There's still much more to tell," I promise and settle in on the sofa.


End file.
